Second Chances
by writingtiger
Summary: What does Charles regret most when he thinks about Korea? Trust me it's not what you think....


_I don't own anyone, except Cat (it will make sense later on)!_

Charles sat at the table, glancing around at the sea of silks and satins with absolute boredom. He was trying to feign interest in what his date, Katherine, was saying. This woman was a daughter of a woman in his mother's club, and he found her terribly uninteresting. "How fascinating," he remarked when his date had finished regaling him with a tale of the antics of her cat.

Another man appeared and asked Katherine to dance. Charles was relieved as he watched him whisk his date onto the floor, and nabbed the opportunity for escape. The occasion, sponsored by his mother's club, was a reception for a Red Cross correspondent who would be speaking at a luncheon tomorrow. Charles had yet to meet her, but wasn't sure he wanted the pleasure as the woman had been to Korea. "You may know her," his mother had remarked. "Bah," he had said, turning back to his copy of the Boston Times. "She's probably some bat of an old maid."

He had been home for a few months, and was trying to erase all traces of the war from his life. However, sometimes when he was kept awake by nightmares, he would examine his life, and one mistake would always pop up in his mind. There were so many ways he had blown it with her

He turned his attention to the dance floor, just in time to see Katherine turn her ankle. Her dance partner helped her up and Charles rushed to aid her. He carried her out to the lobby where there was a couch she could recline on. "How lucky you know a bit of first aid," she joked. There would be no more dancing that evening. "My dear lady, I suggest we go to my office. This is going to require some bandaging." Truth be told he was glad to leave.

He arrived home at midnight. All the lights were on in the Winchester mansion, and he could tell from the laughter that they were all gathered in the dining room.

"Charles, darling, come join us for some champagne," his mother called to him. Obediently Charles went to the dining room, and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes locked with a woman he thought he would never see again. She had grown out her hair from the boyish pixie she had worn on her tour in Korea, and it looked even more beautiful. She wore a jet black sheath, which did justice to her figure.

"Shharles." His heart melted. No one in the world had ever pronounced his name so beautifully. Yet, he remained stoically in place.

"Martine, ah yes, what a pleasant surprise."

"Why you know each other?" his mother inquired.

"Ahh yes, Martine was at the 4077th for a bit."

"Why this is wonderful. Charles, Martine is going to be staying with us for the next few evenings. Perhaps she'd enjoy a tour of Boston."

"Ah, how wonderful," he said. He swallowed his champagne in one gulp. "I'll be back in a moment," he excused himself.

He went into the bathroom just off the dining room and leaned against the sink for support, feeling rather faint. The one part of Korea he was trying to forget would be staying at his very own home. "How could mother do such a thing?" he whispered to himself. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Is she the Martine you were telling me about in your letter?" Honoria asked him out in the hallway.

He nodded.

Honoria could tell the effect the woman was having on her brother. "Sometimes things happen for a reason," she reminded him, as she swept back into the dining room.

The impromptu party broke up soon after, and Charles took Martine aside.

"I would like to talk to you out on the terrace."

The night air was surprisingly warm for early September in New England, and the full moon illuminated the shrubbery that surrounded them. They sat on a bench overlooking the Boston skyline stretching out to the mists of the harbor.

"America is quite the country," she said.

"Much better than Korea," he agreed.

There was an awkward silence between them.

"So you're speaking at my mother's club tomorrow."  
"Yes, One of the ladies is a friend of my mother's in Paris."

"What a small world."

"Martine" – he began. He was not used to doing what he was about to do. "I made a big mistake in Korea. If I were a true man, I wouldn't have judged you so harshly. It shouldn't matter what kind of life you've lived. My mother wouldn't have needed to know all the details. I wanted to apologize."

"I was very hurt when you turned on me like that."

I realize that, and I've regretted it every time I think about Korea."

"I've forgiven you. Life is too short to hold grudges."

"Thank you for accepting my apology."

A tendril of hair had fallen in her face. Without thinking, he reached out and brushed it tenderly away.

They talked about everything they had been doing since they had gotten home. Martine had mostly been working with a Red Cross post in Paris training volunteers, and Charles was settling in as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Boston General. They talked until the sun came up.

"My goodness it's happened again," he stated in amazement, referring to the first time they had met in Korea."

"I do need to get some sleep. Lucky for me, the meeting isn't until this afternoon."

"Oh certainly. Let me show you the guest bedroom."

"Good night," he said when they reached the door. He kissed her gently, and moved down the hallway to his own quarters. He settled into his big king size bed which had been comfortable enough the night before. Now it seemed too big and empty.

When he awoke, his first order of business was a call to the hospital, "Yes, I've had some extraordinary circumstances come up. I'm afraid I won't be in today, or tomorrow," he instructed his secretary Caroline. He had been given a second chance, and he was going to take it.

Epilogue: May 1954

The backyard of the Winchester mansion was a sea of chairs, and the 4077th took up two whole rows on the groom's side. Hawkeye and Margaret had come together, and were planning on a summer wedding in Crabapple Cove. Radar had come with his new wife Patti. The older Mrs. O'Riley sat next to them. Colonel Potter had of course brought Mildred. BJ brought Peg and Erin. Peg was barley within travel allowance, as she was due in July. Klinger and Soon-Li had made it back to the States, and Klinger was happily catching up with Radar. Soon-Li's family was now making a home in Toledo. Even Sidney Freedman was there. Charles had ran into him at a medical conference in New York. Sidney had brought his fiancé Cat. Their date to become husband and wife was set for late August.

Charles held his breath as he watched his bride walk down the aisle. She was stunning in her ivory gown with a bouquet of red roses. For the rest of his life, he would always see her as he did in that moment, even when they were old and gray. However he wasn't thinking of the future at that moment. He wasn't thinking of the children they would have, or the wonderful life they were starting together. He was just so grateful he had been given a second chance.

A few fun notes

I was married in May of 2002 so naturally I think May is the luckiest month to get married in

The name "Cat" comes from the name of Sidney's wife in my MASH neighborhood on the Sims (PS2 variety). When I was creating her, it just seemed to fit.


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